Asked by: Lord Sikka (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of carbon emissions generated by private planes entering or leaving the UK.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
This Government is committed to delivering greener transport and is considering its strategic approach to decarbonising aviation.
In 2023 the Department for Transport published research which estimated carbon emissions from UK-registered General Aviation aircraft arriving and departing from UK aerodromes in 2019. General Aviation includes all non-scheduled civil aviation, including business aviation.
By considering the typical maximum take-off weight of aircraft used for business aviation, his research found that approximately 370 kilotonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent were emitted by UK registered business aviation or larger recreational aircraft. Emissions from non-UK registered aircraft were not included.
Asked by: Lord Sikka (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to require all large companies to publish a country-by-country report.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government does not currently plan to require large companies to publish their country-by-country reports. The government keeps tax policy under review but believes that public country-by-country reporting should apply consistently across all multinationals, and therefore an approach should be developed internationally.
More widely, the government’s ambition is to design out non-compliance in the tax system and make the tax system easier and quicker to deal with for taxpayers, delivering the modern and digital service taxpayers expect.
Asked by: Lord Sikka (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what fines they have levied on P&O Ferries Limited and its directors for failure to file annual audited financial statement at Companies House within the statutory prescribed time for the accounts made up to (1) 31 December 2021, (2) 31 December 2022, and (3) 31 December 2023.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
P&O Ferries Limited has incurred the following penalties for delivering overdue accounts for the reporting years specified:
31 December 2021 | £1500 |
31 December 2022 | £3000 |
Accounts for the year ending 31 December 2023 will incur a £3000 penalty when they are delivered.
Asked by: Lord Sikka (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government how they sanction foreign resident directors of UK registered companies for violations of company law.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Companies Act 2006 applies equally to all UK registered companies and their officers regardless of where the directors are based.
Insolvency Service decisions to pursue an allegation of criminal misconduct by a foreign resident director of a UK registered company will assess the seriousness of the offence(s) alleged, whether there is a reasonable prospect of securing their return to the jurisdiction for any prosecution and the resources required.
Civil enforcement requires leave of the court to serve proceedings outside the jurisdiction.
Asked by: Lord Sikka (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many companies registered at Companies House do not have a UK resident director.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Companies House does not currently hold this statistic. Furthermore, as country of residency is a voluntary field there are issues with the data quality. However, the introduction of voluntary and mandatory identity verification will allow us to be able to analyse and determine the residency of company directors in the future.
Asked by: Lord Sikka (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the annual cost of assessing and administering (1) Pension Credit, and (2) winter fuel payments.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
In terms of administrative costs, in 2023/24 the Department for Work and Pensions spent
(1) £30.7m on the administration of Pension Credit
(2) £3.3m on the administration of Winter Fuel payments.
Cost figures are rounded to the nearest £0.1m
The numbers quoted are estimated DWP level 1 operating costs, including both direct delivery staff and non-staff costs. Non-staff costs are only those costs incurred in local cost centres, relating to direct delivery staff in the processing and management of cases.
Please note that the data supplied is from the Departmental Activity Based Models (ABM). This data is derived from unpublished management information, which was collected for internal Departmental use only and has not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standards.
The Departmental Activity Based staffing models are a snapshot of how many people were identified as undertaking specified activities as assigned by line managers.
The data is frequently revised and changes to definitions / benefits / DWP structure effect comparisons over time. It should therefore be treated with caution and must be seen as an indication of cost, rather than the actual cost.
Asked by: Lord Sikka (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government which water companies have not been convicted of a criminal offence since privatisation.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Since the privatisation of water and sewerage companies in 1989, all ten Water and Sewerage companies which discharge into English waters have been convicted of criminal offences. In addition, since 1997, two water only companies, Bristol Water Plc and Portsmouth Water Limited have been convicted of criminal offences. Details of the enforcement action taken against water companies by regulators are available on the relevant regulator’s websites.
We will not let companies get away with illegal activity and where breaches are found, the regulators will not hesitate to hold companies to account. The Water (Special Measures) Act 2025 provides the most significant increase in enforcement powers to the regulators in a decade, giving them the teeth they need to take tougher action against water companies. In addition, water company bosses could now face up to two years imprisonment where investigations by the regulators are obstructed.
Asked by: Lord Sikka (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch on 8 April (HL6146), what fines have been levied against companies that have not identified all persons of significant control; and how many have been prosecuted and convicted.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Both the company and the company director are prosecuted for offences relating to registration requirements for People with Significant Control under Part 21A of the Companies Act 2006.
The number of prosecutions under Part 21A of the Companies Act 2006 that have resulted in a conviction against a company, and the total value of fines levied as a result, for the period March 2018 to March 2025, are as follows:
| Number of companies convicted | Total Value of Fines (£) |
2018/19 | 61 | £19,150.00 |
2019/20 | 68 | £21,040.00 |
2020/21 | 23 | £14,420.00 |
2021/22 | 56 | £54,804.00 |
2022/23 | 52 | £25,648.00 |
2023/24 | 31 | £12,620.00 |
2024/25 | 13 | £10,840.00 |
Total | 304 | £158,522.00 |
The number of prosecutions under Part 21A of the Companies Act 2006 that have resulted in a conviction against a director and the total value of fines levied as a result, for the period March 2018 to March 2025, are as follows:
| Number of Directors Convicted | Total Value of Fines (£) |
2018/19 | 64 | £18,170.00 |
2019/20 | 94 | £31,302.00 |
2020/21 | 23 | £14,444.00 |
2021/22 | 58 | £56,174.00 |
2022/23 | 52 | £35,508.00 |
2023/24 | 32 | £11,813.00 |
2024/25 | 13 | £10,895.00 |
Total | 336 | £178,306.00 |
The data provided is from Insolvency Service management information and not from official statistics.
Asked by: Lord Sikka (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure all UK Overseas Territories approve laws allowing access to company ownership data to those with a legitimate interest, as they committed to do by April 2025.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
At the Overseas Territories Joint Ministerial Council (JMC) in November 2024, the Falkland Islands and Saint Helena committed to implement fully public registers by April 2025. The British Virgin Islands (BVI), Cayman Islands, Bermuda, Anguilla and Turks and Caicos Islands agreed to implement registers of beneficial ownership, accessible to those with a legitimate interest, by June 2025. It remains our expectation that the Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies will ultimately implement fully public registers, such as those that are already in place in Gibraltar and Montserrat.
Every Territory is making progress towards these commitments and Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office officials are in regular contact with counterparts in the Overseas Territories on their proposals for registers to ensure they meet the agreement made at JMC. The Cayman Islands has introduced an accessible beneficial ownership register. Officials are working together to ensure that this system offers the best possible level of transparency and accessibility.
The Minister of State, Stephen Doughty MP continues to raise this directly with elected leaders across the Overseas Territories including a recent conference call with all leaders and representatives - and has recently spoken to and written to the Premiers of a number of territories individually on this issue, and offered further assistance to the small number who remain off track from meeting their commitments.
Asked by: Lord Sikka (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what investment they have made or intend to make in thorium-based nuclear energy technology.
Answered by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath
There are currently no funded projects specifically for thorium-based nuclear technologies. Potential for future investment will be subject to the Spending Review and the scope of future R&D schemes.